Forum:09: Fighter's Honour
The group sees the war epic "Winds of Fury" at an amphitheatre in northern Copia City. The somewhat ironic tale of a soldier who threw his own life away in the pursuit of war does not rest well with the majority of the party, though the feelings of flight and sensations of the illusion-enhanced performance, supported by the presence of actual gryphons, generally makes a better impression. The group bumps into Agent Lexington after the show. He claims to be a fan of the opera, and he provides a little more historical context for the story and indicates that more than a few details were likely fabricated for dramatic effect. He then makes another job offer to the party: travel to Telet to participate in two Librennian military tactics exercises, which the group accepts as a chance to see some more of the continent. Upon arrival in mountainous Telet, the group meets the adjutant officer Captain Albert Tanner and his wife Estelle, who are in charge of maintaining the base's relationship with the locals of Telet and the gryphon bands. The group is then introduced to the basics of flight movement and combat, and tested against a group of four soldiers from Falcon Team on a similar exercise armed with pistols and lances. The battle is fast and fierce, but ended prematurely when one of the opposing team's riders collided with Lin and sent her and her gryphon, Rao, falling into the forest below. The group then regroups and returns to base, where Yahtuh decides to take a walk to see where his stalk of straw would lead him. It ends in a fortuitous encounter with the legendary weaponsmith Vega, a large Ifrit woman wreathed in blue flame, armored in full plate seemingly fused to her skin. She speaks of the group's weapons as their "partners" and ascribes feelings and sensations onto their weapons. In exchange for the stalk of straw, which she seems to see great value in, she offers Yahtuh a unique tomahawk known as "Part the Waves". She also tells Lin the story of her new spear head, which it turns out belonged to a man whom Vega herself once fought and killed, and imbued his weapon with his intelligence as an apology for taking his life. She says she was uncertain as to where the rest of the spear was, and would not be able to help Lin find it given Lin's unwillingness to reveal where she found the spear head. She also warns Lin that the spear's personality was fierce and that it may clash with her own if it were to be reassembled. The group thus spends the night of Hunting Storm 7 in Telet, awaiting the preparation of the well known "Kill House" for the next phase of the exercise. Rewards: *700 exp for visiting Telet, meeting Vega, and experiencing flight combat. *The ability to train in Knowledge (Opera) from seeing "Winds of Fury". *"Part the Waves." This tomahawk does not radiate heat, but the air around it feels dry and the grip sucks the sweat and moisture right out of the hand holding it. It is a +2 Throwing Axe that will dehydrate targets that are struck by it, causing them to take 2d6 nonlethal damage and fatigue if they fail a DC 16 Fortitude save. Targets that make their save are unaffected by subsequent attacks for the day. Additionally, once per day, it will automatically nullify the effect of one spell with the water descriptor cast upon its wielder. *Ten-Tongues makes a deal with Vega to provide a new accessory for the Lordly Raven. It will be prepared at a later date.